Paranormal Academy Book 3: Elemental Blood

by Jody Morse

  “How could I just use dark magic without even knowing I was using it?” I asked out loud. “I’ve never even done anything with dark magic, and suddenly I’m performing a conjuring spell?”

  “It doesn’t make sense. Unless…” He trailed off.

  “Unless what?” I glanced over at him with wide eyes.

  “Well, here’s a theory.” He glanced around to make sure no one was around to overhear us before turning to me. “Okay, so, we already know that you’re The Chosen One, which means that you’re part magic user.”

  “Right.” The prophecy stated that, as The Chosen One, I was part magic user, part shifter, part water, and part vampire.

  “Well, the prophecy never actually specified what type of magic user you are, did it?” Kaden said pointedly. “And ‘magic user’ is a really broad term. Warlock technically falls into that category.”

  “So, are you saying that you think I’m a warlock then?”

  “I think it’s a very real possibility,” he replied with a nod. “I’m not sure how else you would know how to use dark magic. It wouldn’t just come naturally to a witch—not without a lot of practice and, especially, not for a spell that difficult. Conjuring spells aren’t easy, and it’s even harder when it comes to the size of the creature you’re conjuring. It’s a lot easier to conjure a scorpion or a black widow spider, for example, than a sea monster of that size. It definitely seemed like the doing of a warlock.”

  “Wow. I might be a warlock.” I had honestly never really considered the possibility that I could be a warlock, but then I had never actually used dark magic before now, either.

  Was it possible that Kaden was right? Was I actually a warlock?

  If I was, that would have complicated things even further. But in a way, it would have made sense.

  I had never expected to be part vampire, but I was.

  I had expected to be part werewolf, but I was a dragon shifter instead.

  I had believed that I was a witch, but maybe I was actually a warlock?

  “This year is already so confusing. First, I have elemental blood. Now I’m possibly a warlock,” I muttered out loud, more to myself than to Kane.

  But he glanced over at me with wide eyes. “You have elemental blood?”

  “You’ve heard of it?” My eyebrows shot up. Ambur and Draia both hadn’t had any clue what it meant, and they were both book worms. That made me think that elemental blood wasn’t the most commonly known thing in the paranormal world.

  “Yeah, I’ve heard of it.” Kaden stared at me. “Remember when I told you I thought Headmaster Crane didn’t want me to come anywhere near you because we’re both different?”

  I nodded.

  “You’re not the only one with elemental blood, Juliana.” His blue eyes locked on mine. “I have it, too.”

  “You do?” I just stared back at him, completely surprised.

  Kaden nodded.

  “What type of elemental blood?” I asked.

  “Warlock. So, fire,” he replied.

  “Mine is air,” I replied.

  His eyes darted over to meet mine. “What’s your air paranormal race?”

  “Dragon shifter.”

  “You realize that’s technically fire, too, right?” Kaden asked.

  “It is?” Professor Ryan hadn’t mentioned that when she’d given me the breakdown of paranormal race by element.

  “It’s one of those paranormal races that falls into two elements. A lot of dragon shifters have an affinity for both fire and air. It’s probably part of the reason you have such strong affinities for both.”

  “Must be,” I replied as we came to a stop in front of the House of Mage.

  Kaden’s blue eyes found mine. “I’m glad we’re speaking again. I wish we never stopped.”

  I smiled. “Me, too.”

  “If Headmaster Crane has anything to say about me being around you again, he can go fuck himself. Now that we’ve reunited, I’m not about to walk away from you again. Last time, I let my fear get the better of me, but it was a mistake.” His eyes locked on mine. “Now, no one will be able to keep me away from you.”

  I hoped he meant it.

  As he leaned in closer to me then, my heart pounded against my chest. It had been so long since I had kissed him. I had dreamt about this moment so many times since the last time we’d spoken.

  Kaden’s lips came down on mine then, his kiss taking over my mouth ravenously. It was driven by the tension that had built up since we’d been apart, fueled by passion.

  In the midst of our kiss, a strong breeze blew all around us, whipping my hair into the air. It was the type of wind that was so strong, it was shocking.

  When I pulled away from him, I just knew.

  Our kiss had caused it.

  ***

  I didn’t sleep well that night, and I had a really hard time paying attention in my classes the following day.

  I just kept replaying my kiss with Kaden. It ran through my mind, over and over again, just like a movie scene. It reminded me of my first kiss with Avery, only instead of igniting a fire, my kiss with Kaden had made the wind blow.

  I was still trying to make sense of what it all meant, but there was one thing I was certain of. The way I had felt for both of them, this intense connection, was more than me being attracted to paranormal beings. I was pretty sure that it had something to do with the fact that both of them had elemental blood.

  Now that I knew what it meant to have elemental blood, a part of me couldn’t help but wonder if our magic abilities somehow made us more drawn to one another.

  I kept comparing it to the attraction I’d felt for Brett. With Avery and Kaden, I had felt what I could have sworn was a soulmate connection. And even though I’d been attracted to Brett on and off since we’d first met, our connection had never been the same.

  Though there was one similarity that I couldn’t forget.

  The first time I had kissed Avery, we had ignited a fire.

  The first time I’d kissed Kaden since we had been away from one another, we had made the wind blow.

  And while kissing Brett for the first time hadn’t caused anything crazy to happen with one of my affinities, it had caused something—something huge. It had enacted my dragon shifter gene.

  I still wasn’t really sure how or why it had happened. I also really didn’t think Brett was my soulmate. But I just kept thinking that his kiss sparking that change within me had to have meant something. I just wasn’t sure what.

  I sighed. This was all so exhausting to think about.

  After school that day, I headed over to the House of Crimson to meet up with Taylor for a snack. Since, you know, he was my snack. Well, his blood.

  When I knocked on his door, he was already standing on the other side, waiting for me.

  Before he’d even closed the door behind him, his lips were already on mine.

  During our summer apart from one another, I had completely forgotten what a good kisser he was. He had a way with his mouth.

  And he was also really easy on the eyes, I realized, as I pulled away from him, drinking him in (no pun intended).

  But at the end of the day, he was just a really hot vampire. He wasn’t Kaden or Avery. We didn’t have that type of connection, not even in the least.

  I just wanted to drink his damn blood. And so that was exactly what I did.

  Allowing my fangs to come out, I sank them into his neck.

  Taylor moaned out quietly, completely giving into my craving.

  His blood hit my tongue. It was warm and metallic-tasting, and just simply delightful. Too delightful. It had been so long since I had drunk blood from him that I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to stop myself before I took too much, so I forced myself to pull away before it was too late.

  I kissed Taylor again and then tilted my neck for him to drink from me.

  He had just sunk his fangs into my skin when someone said over the loudspeaker, “Juliana Montgomery, would you please
come to Headmaster Crane’s office immediately?”

  Taylor pulled away from me. “You’ve gotta be freaking kidding me. I haven’t even drunk from you yet.”

  “Make it quick,” I said.

  He swirled his tongue over the puncture wound he’d created, igniting a gasp from me, and then drank a few mouthfuls of blood.

  When he pulled away, he kissed my chin. “Let’s plan another blood sesh again real soon, okay?”

  “Sounds like a plan.” I kissed him again before hurrying out of his dorm room and out of the House of Crimson.

  I moved quickly, curious over what this could have been about.

  When I reached Headmaster Crane’s office, I found that the door was open. He wasn’t the only one who was inside.

  There were three other men, all in black uniforms. I was pretty sure they were some type of paranormal police officers.

  “You may wait outside,” Headmaster Crane told the officers before turning to me. “Miss Montgomery, please close the door and have a seat.” The Headmaster didn’t look at me as he motioned to the chair across from his desk.

  As the officers—or whatever they were—moved past me, they gave me suspicious looks. It made me wonder even more what was going on.

  Nervously, I closed the door behind me. What Everly had told me filled my mind.

  Headmaster Crane had been working with the Dark Coven. What if these guys who I’d originally thought were police officers were actually members of the Dark Coven? What if the reason they were here was to get rid of me? To take me away somewhere to prevent me from using my magic?

  “Miss Montgomery, the reason I called you into my office today is because a report was made about you,” Headmaster Crane said.

  My eyebrows lifted questioningly. “A report?”

  He nodded. “You were accused of using dark magic last night in Water Magic class.”

  Shit. I had really thought that Professor Hart seemed really cool, but apparently, she didn’t like me.

  “Headmaster Crane, I can explain,” I said, but even as I spoke the words, I wasn’t entirely sure if that was true. Could I explain? I could barely make sense of the whole thing myself.

  “Miss Montgomery, I’m not sure if any explanation you give me would make a difference. We have a strict policy against dark magic. It’s right in the student handbook. It’s strictly forbidden on our campus and using it can result in suspension or expulsion.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t remember reading that in the student handbook. If that’s true, then how are there warlocks who attend Paranormal Academy?” I asked.

  Headmaster Crane narrowed his eyes at me. “Miss Montgomery, are you questioning the rules of the Academy that I am personally the head of? I’m pretty sure I would know the rules better than anyone.”

  I swallowed hard. The last thing I wanted was to create waves with him. Clearly, I had already created enough waves in Water Magic class. What I really needed to do was smooth this all over.

  “Headmaster Crane, I’m sorry I used dark magic during Water Magic class. I honestly did not intend to use the conjuring spell. I’ve never conjured anything before—and certainly not anything as dangerous as a sea monster. It happened on accident. All I did was think about whether or not there were any sea creatures in the ocean and then it appeared. It’s not something I wanted to happen, and it’s not something I would ever try to repeat—not that it was in my control in the first place.”

  His face softened then. “Wait. Are you saying that you really didn’t try to use dark magic?”

  I shook my head.

  “Miss Montgomery, if you didn’t try to use dark magic, then that means there’s a very good chance that you could be part warlock.”

  I swallowed hard. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

  “Hmm.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “I’m not quite sure what to do in this situation.” His pale blue eyes shifted over to meet mine. “You have a rather unique case, considering we haven’t yet fully determined your paranormal race or if you might have more than one.”

  I just stared back at him, seeing straight this his bullshit.

  You know I’m The Chosen One. You know I have more than one paranormal race, I thought to myself.

  I knew there was no way I could say that out loud. I wanted to see what Headmaster Crane was going to do on his own without me calling him out for knowing.

  “I believe we should begin with a dark magic aptitude test,” Headmaster Crane said after a long moment.

  “A dark magic aptitude test?” I just stared back at him, wide-eyed.

  He nodded. “Yes. It’s a test we have every incoming warlock student take,” he explained. “It helps us determine the strength of their magic, which ultimately helps us determine how to work with them to try to help them better control it. You’ll take a series of tests that will measure your ability to perform dark magic.” He paused for a long moment. “But there’s something I should probably tell you right now. Even if you do turn out to be a warlock, I don’t plan to move you to the House of Darkness. I also don’t intend to change your schedule.”

  “Why?” I asked, even though I knew the real answer. He wasn’t going to move me because I was The Chosen One.

  “We have already witnessed that you have a very unique set of skills and abilities. Your ability to control the elements is unlike anything we have ever seen at Paranormal Academy before. I think we should keep you in the classes we’ve already decided would be best for you.”

  “Okay,” I agreed with a nod.

  “I’ll have the time and date of your dark magic aptitude test delivered to you by pixie mail,” Headmaster Crane replied. “You’re free to leave.”

  “Thank you. Have a good day.” As I left his office, I found the uniformed officers—or whatever they were—standing out in the hallway. I really wondered who they were and what they were doing there.

  I let out a slight sigh of relief. At least I wasn’t getting suspended or expelled. And we would actually get an answer.

  I was about to learn if I was a good magic user or if I was evil.

  Chapter 10

  Being in Water Magic class the next day was really hard, to be honest.

  Every time Professor Hart so much as looked in my direction, I just found myself growing angry all over again that she had reported my accidental use of dark magic and conjuring to Headmaster Black.

  I knew that it was technically her job to report students who were abusing or misusing their magic, but what bothered me was that we had actually discussed about how the conjuring spell I had performed was an accident. Her going behind my back almost felt like some sort of betrayal.

  Once the class was over, I did the one thing I had promised myself that I wasn’t going to do.

  I waited behind to talk to her.

  “I’ll wait for you outside,” Kaden told me.

  I nodded and then walked over to Professor Hart. “I have a question for you.”

  “Sure.” Smiled. “What is it?”

  I wasn’t sure how else to ask it, so I just blurted, “Why did you report me to Headmaster Crane?”

  A look of confusion filled her honey brown eyes. “I’m sorry, but I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

  “Headmaster Crane called me into his office because of the report that you filed against me, for using dark magic in class.” I swallowed hard. “I just thought you understood that it wasn’t really my fault.”

  “Juliana, I’m sorry that you experienced this. But I’m being one-hundred percent honest when I tell you that I’m not the one who filed a report against you.”

  “You aren’t?” I just stared back at her, completely confused by her words.

  “No. I understand why you would think that it was me, but you’re right. I did understand that you accidentally conjured the sea monster. The last thing I would have wanted was to get you into trouble or jeopardize your career at Paranormal Academy—especially knowing how much you meant to
my stepbrother.”

  “I don’t understand,” I said, shaking my head. “If you didn’t file the report against me, then who did?”

  “I’m not sure.” She frowned and then her eyes locked on mine. “Do you have any enemies in this class?”

  I shook my head. “No. Not that I know of.”

  “So, here’s the thing. I’m sure you’re probably already well aware of this by now, but you’re pretty popular in this world,” Professor Hart began. “The problem with popularity is that it can lead to jealousy. My guess is that someone in this class is jealous of you. They probably saw that you stayed after class to talk to me about the conjuring incident and then reported it to the Headmaster.”

  “Yeah, that seems like a pretty good theory,” I replied, but even as I spoke the words, I had a feeling that it wasn’t the case.

  I wasn’t sure who had reported me to Headmaster Crane, but I was pretty sure that whoever it was had more motive than that.

  I just wasn’t sure who it could have been, or what the motive would be. It was a mystery.

  ***

  When I left the pool room, I found Kaden waiting for me right outside.

  “So, how did it go?” he asked as I approached him.

  “Well, she said she wasn’t the one who filed the report,” I explained.

  “Hmm. I wonder who did,” he murmured.

  “Me, too,” I replied with a sigh as we stepped out into the warm summer night. “You know, this is really nice. Just walking alone with you. Not having Brett up my ass. I didn’t even tell him I had a night class, or else he would be escorting me to and from it.” I glanced over at Kaden. “I’m really glad I get this time alone with you.”

  A smile hit his lips. “Me too.” He paused for a few moments before asking, “How is Brett Summers, anyway?” Kaden asked me. “I always notice him walking you to most of your classes.”

  “The classes I let him walk me to, anyway. Sometimes, I leave before he has a chance to walk me, or I just tell him not to bother. I’m so tired of him being my guard, honestly.”